Yesterday, all the favorites advanced, with Expedition Everest, Rock n' Roller Coaster, Indiana Jones Adventure and Men In Black Alien Attack easily moving on to the next round.
Today, the reigning champion enters the arena to defend its crown. Twilight Zone Tower of Terror at Disney's Hollywood Studios faces what I'll call the "play in" contestant from among Disneyland's Fantasyland rides, Peter Pan's Flight.
As always, I ask you to take a look at the comments below *before* casting your votes. (Early voters, get the campaigning going by submitting a comment.) Thoughtful votes help make this a better tournament.
Two Cedar Point coasters face off in our next match-up: It's Top Thrill Dragster versus Maverick.
The Beast versus The Dinosaur sounds like a decent late-night horror movie. How do you rate the attractions?
Dollywood and Knott's Berry Farm both have been known for their fried chicken dinners. But you wouldn't want to partake too soon before riding either Thunderhead or Xcelerator. Which coaster is your favorite?
To the comments!
The first pairing is funny. Peter Pan is a relic that needs to be updated and quick. Plus, the lines for it are abhorrent. Tower is a masterpiece. Disney took the Freefall, themed it up the wazoo and with the random drops...it can't be beat. Best ride at WDW.
Gotta go with Maverick on the second pair. Dragster is too similar to Kingda Ka for my tastes.
The third pairing is the hard one. The Beast is one of the great woodies and is incredible. However, I adore the Dinosaur ride system and my family enjoys it every time. Yes, I come off as a Disney homer here, but gotta go with the gut.
Thunderhead wins the last round simply because Xcelerator is too short. Blink and it is over.
Between TTD and Maverick, I had to go to some pros. A couple of folks I work with daily are huge Cedar Point fans, making a pilgrimage several times each summer. For them it was no contest: Maverick. While they loved TTD, they explained that it was too short, and just a one trick pony. It is a great one trick, they said, but no comparison to the thrills offered by Maverick. I have not ridden Maverick yet, so I will have to trust their judgment.
The Beast vs. Dinosaur: I totally disagree with you on this one, Robert! The Beast may be a classic woodie, and the longest one in the world at that (heh, heh, that's funny), but Dinosaur is pure Disney magic. Loud, brash, genuinely scary, and a whole lotta fun, I will take Dinosaur any day over any coaster, even one as great as The Beast.
Speaking of wooden masterpieces, Thunderhead is the pinnacle of GCI coaster design...a great wooden coaster with 30+ crossovers and more turns than you can shake a stick at (pun intended)! More fun than the Beast, and almost as thrilling as The Voyage at Holiday World, Thunderhead deserves your vote. Come on people, give Dollywood some love!
The first pairing is a joke. Peter Pan is a classic, but it is ancient. It needs an update and fast. Plus, the line goes on forever. The Tower is perfection. Like James said, they took the Freefall and amped the theming up the wazoo to create the very best ride at WDW
Dragster is too similar to Kingda Ka for my tastes and Maverick is simply superior.
I have to disagee with Robert on the third pairing as well.
The Beast is a terrific woodie, but Dinosaur has my all-time favorite ride system. The family loves it to death.
Lastly, Thunderhead is aces. Xcelerator is way too short, but will win, since apparently, no one goes to Dollywood. Come on people!
This is unfair in that it is two good rides that are head to head and it's not apples to apples. The two rides are two totally different concepts and have two totally different objectives for two totally different audiences. I'd say if you were a younger pre-teen, or a non-thrill seeker your vote should go to Peter. If you were anything else I'd think your vote would go to Tower. I would say I think Tower is better themed as far as the queues go, but that doesn't usually matter to the younger target audience of Peter so I'm not sure if that should be judged.
Personally my vote goes to Tower.
*Side notes: Did you know that the Tower of Terror WDW was actually hit by lightning during its construction as mentioned in the theme.
Also there was a hard boiled egg from someones lunch on one of the top spires from its construction to about the early 2000's when it finally decomposed.
Beast vs. Dinosaur
This is simple, Beast. To me it's just way better on all accounts even though I wouldn't consider it all that "thrilling." Dinosaur is a great example of sometimes you don't get what you pay for. I was told by a credible source that it was the most expensive ride Disney has built (this was in 2004). To put this in perspective I knew that it if you are talking the physical ride itself it is exactly identical to Indiana in DL, EXACT. No reprogramming, no new piece molds, exact. ...and yet was still the most expensive ride they made. Why, you ask? The robotic dinosaurs. Yes those very same dinosaurs you barely see. To me this is not even close to Indy's experience and is a major let down.
Easy, Beast
Raul, we'll both be in agreement in round two as well, when we work together to bring down Expedition Everest. Although, in that case we will be trying to defeat the Yeti for completely different reasons, nevertheless a spirit of camaraderie may emerge.....
Scary, huh?
The second matchup isn't the easiest. The ride on Dragster is unforgettable, and lets not forget that Kingda Ka is the ripoff of this attraction. The only problem is that it's short. Maverick in contrast has some very exciting moments and is plain fun, so my vote goes to Maverick.
The Beast, The Beast, The Beast...Kings Island is my home park, I've ridden this coaster hundreds of times, and it never ever gets old. Dinosaur is a nice Disney ride with stories and immersion and all that, but there's no comparison when thrill and reride value is considered. Even after 30 years, there's still nothing like a ride on The Beast. This ride will probably fall to Disney fanboy BS, and that's a shame.
Have to go with Thunderhead. GCI coasters are tough to top these days, and this one is the best of them. They are a thrilling ride, yet family friendly. This is another one that one could ride over and over.
Robert - I thought I read something that you weren't going to put children's rides in this tournament? I was surprised to see Peter Pan.
Of course TOT beats PP. That's just easy.
I'm a HUGE (HUGE!) Cedar Point fan and although TTD is quite a rush (I am one of the lucky few who have gotten to fall backwards - exhilarating!), Maverick became one of my top 10 coasters when I rode it last Spring. Maverick has 2 launches - lots of twists and turns. Plenty of "I'm going to hit the ground/wall!" moments. And, it's fun all the way up until the end. Maverick takes it. No contest.
The Beast is phenomenal. Talk about an edge of your seat/"is this thing going off the rails!?" experience. Dinosaur is tons of fun and very well done, but The Beast is unique. Keep voting for the second best woodie in the world!
And finally we have Mystery Mine all over again. Thunderhead is absolutely the BEST woodie EVER. Xcelerator is the prototype for Top Thrill Dragster (and, of course, Kindga Ka). It's a blast - but short and really not that high when compared to the 2 rides it spawned. People need to get out to Dollywood and ride Thunderhead. Vote for it!!! Look beyond the rides in your backyard. Branch out and give Ms. Parton some love! BEST...WOODIE...EVER!!!!
I feel much better about my Maverick pick now that Derek and Scottland have chimed in and voted. Having not had the pleasure of riding Maverick I was unsure whether or not it beat the launch rush provided by TTD. Apparently it does.
And Scottland, did I read that right...you said something about Ms Parton providing you with the best woodie ever?? Hmmmm..... ;)
Going through the site ratings, once you eliminate the rides with fewer than the minimum number of votes, the clones and the total kiddie rides (such as Dumbo), I was getting to some not-that-great rides for the 64 slot. Rather than putting one of them in the tournament, I decided to let one Disney Fantasyland ride be the "play-in" contestant and take the 64 slot. Pan had the highest rating so it got that slot. (I'd have put Cat in the Hat in at 64 had Spider-Man won, to avoid the Disney bandwagon thing, if anyone wonders.)
THE BEAST - What a classic and still awesome coaster that is celebrating it's 30th Anniversary this year!!! No contest - vote Beast!!!
Oh, and Thunderhead over Xcelerator, for sure. Have people even ridden Thunderhead?
Dino is getting clobbered now....odd. I wonder where the Disney Army is today? There is nothing wrong with the Beast, and I would not cry if it won, but man, I do so love Dinosaur. It is the only reason I even go to DinoLand USA at all.
At least Thunderhead is making a comeback..and deservedly so.
If you all like wooden coasters, you really owe it to yourself to go to Holiday World sometime. They have three of the best wooden coasters in the nation all at one park. And The Voyage is just astonishingly good.
I have been to Disney World many times and the one ride that generally gives me a jump and a scare everytime is Dinosaur (not ToT, Haunted Mansion, or even Alien Enounter/Stitch). Dinosaur uses sound, lighting, roughness, and animatronics to make it super scary including the ending with the Dino jumping out you.
Would have loved to vote for Dinosaur, but cant as have no idea what the beast is never mind experienced it. Simillar to Tower of Terror I could ride this over and over I love the concept and enjoy ever second. Come on Dinosaur!!!
Thunderhead making a late run. It really does deserve the win. I would hate to see Dollywood get snubbed again.
GO THUNDERHEAD!!!!!
Maverick vs TTD? As much as I feel TTD is a one-trick-pony - it's a good trick. After having the opportunity to ride Maverick as much as I wanted (or as much as my body could stand) after the park closed one night last year (as I recall it was 6 times in an hour since there were so few platinum pass holders there for the event), I found, you can't ride it over and over. It's a little more rough than you realize when there is no wait between rerides. Could I ride TTD more than six times in an hour - no doubt. So my vote goes to TTD.
Considering the similarities between Dinosaur and Indiana Jones at DL, I'm surprised how different they feel. Indiana is relatively smooth and enjoyable; I find Dinosaur a little more rough - although I found it better this year during my visit in January. But Beast is such a classic and celebrating 30 years this season and still a record holder. I'm giving it to the Beast.
Finally, the fourth was the hardest choice. I went with Xcelerator for similar reasons for TTD over Maverick. As I get older, wood coasters and my body become more and more unfriendly with each other. Whenever I get to Knotts, I head for Xcelerator and ride it over and over. I'm amazed how short the line always is for "TTD-lite" (but then I tend to visit parks off season on weekdays.) But with this matchup, I'm happy either way.
"Thunderhead. Get it?" James whispers, winking.
"Got it," replies Robert, a sly look on his face, the cash and Dollywood season passes gripped firmly in his sweaty palms.
"Good."
Top Thrill Dragster is so much more exciting than Maverick, which is a good serviceable coaster but nothing out of the ordinary. What a shame TTD is going to lose so early.
The pro-Beast voters appear to be sticking around to vote for Thunderhead, too, closing the gap there.
The Disney fans were linking in in the morning, but that traffic dropped off later in the day. Perhaps they thought this was in hand.
other vote: ToT over peter pan because thats the easiest decision ever. I dont get the lines for that thing. never been to cedar point or dollywood so i have no idea about those rides.
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